ARLINGTON, Texas - UF point guard Scottie Wilbekin laid flat on his back, helpless. His twisted right ankle was on ice and both eyes were fixed on the game clock on the training room wall at UConn's Gambel Pavilion. There was no TV or scoreboard in the room, so all Wilbekin could do was listen. He heard the roar, and his heart sank. Huskies guard Shabazz Napier had just hit a buzzer beater to hand the Gators a 65-64 loss. "I saw the clock go to zero, and then I heard the crowd cheer," Wilbekin recalled Friday.

Running off at the typewriter … If you needed any further evidence that Orlando has become a soccer town, just look at the local TV ratings in which Thursday afternoon the United States-Germany soccer match drew 242,489 Central Florida viewers on ESPN while the NBA draft on Thursday night averaged 37,067 local ESPN viewers. That's right, a soccer loss to Germany in the middle of a work day dwarfed the biggest Magic draft in years during primetime. How does it feel, Orlando, to be the budding Soccer Capital of America?

GAINESVILLE - It took a buzzer beater by Shabazz Napier and a late-game injury to Scottie Wilbekin for the Connecticut Huskies to slip by the Florida Gators the last time the two teams met. UConn will look for more good fortune against the nation's hottest team, while the Gators look to settle a score with the surging Huskies when the teams meet again Saturday during the Final Four. Since that dramatic 65-64 loss at UConn on Dec. 2, UF (36-2) has reeled off 30 straight wins, with Wilbekin leading the way. Meanwhile, the Napier-led Huskies (30-8)

ARLINGTON, Texas - Shabazz Napier saved the best for last. In the final game of a brilliant career, the 6-foot-1 Napier - UConn's senior All-American point guard - stood up to Kentucky's all-freshman lineup and emerged with his second national title for the Huskies, 60-54 winners over Kentucky on Monday night. With a crowd of 79,238 at AT&T Stadium looking on, Napier scored a game-high 22 points to go with six rebounds and two assists as the quickness and experience of UConn's backcourt ultimately was able to offset Kentucky's decided size advantage and physicality.

Defending Big East Tournament and NCAA national champion UConn stayed alive in the second round of the 2012 Big East Tournament on Wednesday, sliding past West Virginia in overtime, 71-67. Afer neither team scored in the final 1:50 of regulation to send the game into overtime tied at 65, UConn took over in the extra period. UConn advances to play Syraucuse in the tournament quarterfinals Friday at noon. Shabazz Napier scored 26 points for UConn, while Jeremy Lamb had 22 points and eight rebounds.

Call this year's March Madness the tournament of chicken. Actually crow is the more accurate nickname for underdog unbelievers. But after ESPN analyst Jay Bilas tweeted his crow tasted like chicken, the name stuck. Multi-million dollar college basketball programs and the executives who bankrolled the big-money television contracts would have preferred a tournament of lions, of course. Instead, they got underdogs and millions of fans got an unpredictable dose of chicken.

UCF basketball extended its month-long losing streak Sunday night, leaving the Knights grasping for a moral victory. The Knights battled back from a double-digit halftime deficit against No. 22 UConn to make it a game in the second half, largely behind the breakout performance of 6-foot-10, 310-pound freshman Justin McBride. But even the big man's big game couldn't erase the sting of UCF's 75-55 loss to the Huskies (18-5, 6-4 American). It was the Knights' eighth straight and ninth in 10 games.

By Dom Amore Tribune Newspapers NEW YORK - Conference realignment rocked the landscape, the man who built the program into a national power retired on the eve of a season, and the NCAA forced them to spend last March in postseason purgatory. But the UConn brand in men's basketball has endured, just as coach Kevin Ollie has always promised it would. Their former rivals are going to the ACC or Big 10; the Huskies are going back to the Final Four. UConn secured that with a 60-54 win over Michigan State in the East Regional final at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

ARLINGTON, Texas - It's only appropriate that Kasey Hill's surrogate parents are making the trip from Central Florida to North Texas and will be at the Final Four to watch their son play against UConn tonight. You see, without them, Kasey himself might not be at the Final Four at all. He might be at the Forgotten Four. Or the Forsaken Four. In fact, he shudders to think where he'd be. "There's no telling what would have happened to me," says Kasey, the Florida Gators' freshman point guard who grew up in Clermont and attended Montverde Academy.

A season that began with the highest of hopes and expectations ended in disappointment. The UConn men's basketball team, in a game that in many ways reflected the season, was ousted from the NCAA Tournament Thursday night by Iowa State , 77-64 at the KFC Yum! Center in the second round, the round of 64. The national championship will land elsewhere this April. "Effort and attitude," said Shabazz Napier , when asked the difference between last season and this season.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Scottie Wilbekin's clutch play and winning touch had been the Florida Gators' calling card, even their crutch at times during the postseason. Whenever the Gators needed him, Wilbekin was there. He hit halftime buzzer-beaters against Tennessee, Pitt and Dayton, took over a close game during the final minutes against UCLA and spearheaded a relentless defensive effort on the final possession against Kentucky during the SEC Tournament final. But when the Florida Gators' needed Wilbekin most, he wasn't himself during the Final Four.

ARLINGTON, Texas — UF point guard Scottie Wilbekin laid flat on his back, helpless. His twisted right ankle was on ice and both eyes were fixed on the game clock on the training room wall at UConn's Gambel Pavilion. There was no TV or scoreboard in the room, so all Wilbekin could do was listen. He heard the roar, and his heart sank. Huskies guard Shabazz Napier had just hit a buzzer beater to hand the Gators a 65-64 loss. "I saw the clock go to zero, and then I heard the crowd cheer," Wilbekin recalled Friday.

ARLINGTON, Texas - It's only appropriate that Kasey Hill's surrogate parents are making the trip from Central Florida to North Texas and will be at the Final Four to watch their son play against UConn tonight. You see, without them, Kasey himself might not be at the Final Four at all. He might be at the Forgotten Four. Or the Forsaken Four. In fact, he shudders to think where he'd be. "There's no telling what would have happened to me," says Kasey, the Florida Gators' freshman point guard who grew up in Clermont and attended Montverde Academy.

GAINESVILLE - It has been 30 games - and 30 wins - since the Florida Gators lost on a buzzer-beater at Connecticut. It might as well be 30 years to senior point guard Scottie Wilbekin. "The game was such a long time ago," Wilbekin said. "It feels like forever. " Much has changed during the four months since UF's Dec. 2 loss and the teams' rematch at 6:09 p.m. Saturday in the Final Four. The Gators have not lost a game, while the Huskies had to shake off a 33-point loss to Louisville March 8 to stay in contention for its fourth national title since 1999.

GAINESVILLE - It took a buzzer beater by Shabazz Napier and a late-game injury to Scottie Wilbekin for the Connecticut Huskies to slip by the Florida Gators the last time the two teams met. UConn will look for more good fortune against the nation's hottest team, while the Gators look to settle a score with the surging Huskies when the teams meet again Saturday during the Final Four. Since that dramatic 65-64 loss at UConn on Dec. 2, UF (36-2) has reeled off 30 straight wins, with Wilbekin leading the way. Meanwhile, the Napier-led Huskies (30-8)

By Dom Amore Tribune Newspapers NEW YORK - Conference realignment rocked the landscape, the man who built the program into a national power retired on the eve of a season, and the NCAA forced them to spend last March in postseason purgatory. But the UConn brand in men's basketball has endured, just as coach Kevin Ollie has always promised it would. Their former rivals are going to the ACC or Big 10; the Huskies are going back to the Final Four. UConn secured that with a 60-54 win over Michigan State in the East Regional final at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

STORRS — The turmoil continued for theUConn men's basketballprogram. The ledger on Friday had two players going, one coming in, one finding a new home and others staying. Michael Bradley is out, R.J. Evans is in, Alex Oriakhi is settled and Andre Drummond's decision to leave after one season became official. "My family and I feel that this is the right time for me to take the next step in my basketball career," Drummond said in a statement released by the school. "It has always been a goal of mine to compete against the world's best players and that is one of the big factors for me in making this decision.

GAINESVILLE - It has been 30 games - and 30 wins - since the Florida Gators lost on a buzzer-beater at Connecticut. It might as well be 30 years to senior point guard Scottie Wilbekin. "The game was such a long time ago," Wilbekin said. "It feels like forever. " Much has changed during the four months since UF's Dec. 2 loss and the teams' rematch at 6:09 p.m. Saturday in the Final Four. The Gators have not lost a game, while the Huskies had to shake off a 33-point loss to Louisville March 8 to stay in contention for its fourth national title since 1999.

UCF basketball extended its month-long losing streak Sunday night, leaving the Knights grasping for a moral victory. The Knights battled back from a double-digit halftime deficit against No. 22 UConn to make it a game in the second half, largely behind the breakout performance of 6-foot-10, 310-pound freshman Justin McBride. But even the big man's big game couldn't erase the sting of UCF's 75-55 loss to the Huskies (18-5, 6-4 American). It was the Knights' eighth straight and ninth in 10 games.